Page 276 of The Lands Defying
As I look up to the battlements, trying to see if there is any way we can cause them to stop their attack, I see Higher Aldus looking down upon us with his witches in tow.
Shit.
“Darius?”I call down the link, needing to see how long he will be, but I soon realize as my heart drops to my stomach, that he’s not there.
That the link is shut.
Seventy Seven
Darius
The need to be with Rhea nearly overwhelms me, nearly makes me port to the front gates to make sure she’s safe.
I can’t talk to her. I can’t get through to her as the link shut down.
The tunnels we are in cancel out that link, even one as powerful as an Heir with the magic running through here.
It makes my skin crawl, makes me feel an urgency that rattles my bones and makes my hackles rise. Drax growls within me.
We are right below Wolvorn Castle, Rhea fighting at the front gates and it doesn’t feel right that she is not next to me.
I haven’t let her out of my sight since she fell off the cliff and now, here we are, separated again.
We move in another direction, Edward leading the way with the subtle glow of the torch light.
“How long?” I whisper, keeping my senses on high alert.
“Just down this next tunnel, then we will take a right and there’s a hidden entrance,” Edward says, and Leo and I share a look.
My hand stays on my blade, ready for anything while Drax paces inside of me, trying to break free. He senses the danger, senses Runa is out there fighting while he’s in here, but he will have to suffer like me.
Rhea will port out of there if they are overwhelmed. I even told the witch to get her out of there too, and she said she would.
But I don’t trust Rhea’s sense of judgment.
She would sacrifice anything for those she loves, and with her pack with her…
“Hurry,” I say, listening to those behind me.
My brothers are with me, readying themselves to go to the courtyard and sneak up behind those attacking near the front gates, the others— those from various villages, carry port stones on them so that when we get the food storage, they can port back to Eridian and Colhelm with the supplies.
We reach a dead end, and Edward turns to hand me the torch. When I just stare at him, he sighs and passes it to Leo.
“You don’t like me very much, do you?” His hands go to the wall as he feels the grooves there.
“I don’t.”
He presses a stone inward, then the wall moves, opening like a door. He turns and gestures for the torch again. Once in hand, he walks up a set of stairs.
“Good.”
“Good?” I question him, and he nods.
“Yes. It means you are protective of Rhea.”
“Until my dying breath,” I tell him on a growl.
He stops, taking a breath before he turns to look at me. “Then don’t die.”
